this morning on first look, president obama makes history this morning in myanmar. israeli attacks rock gaza with a palestinian death toll rising as israel seeks to wipe out militants. paula broadwell finally returns home as congress digs deeper into david petraeus's testimony. a very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. it is a historic day for president obama and for the people of myanmar, as it transitions towards democracy. during the first visit by a sitting u.s. president, mr. obama pledged that the u.s. will be friends with any nation that respects its people's rights and international law. nbc political director and chief white house reporter chuck todd has been traveling with the

president. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, veronica. president obama is the first president to ever visit myanmar. i can tell you it's been a whirlwind day here for the president. the president got here, greeted by throngs of people of this country at times getting very close actually to the motorcade. the first thing he did after he met with the president is he went to nobel peace prize winner aung san suu kyi, who of course is the big democracy activist here in myanmar. the president was here and made the case why myanmar needs to continue its democratic reform and also told the story of the evolution of american democracy hoping it would serve as a model. here's a little bit of that speech. >> i stand before you today, the president of the most powerful

nation on earth, but recognizing that once the color of my skin would have denied me the right to vote. and so that should give you some sense that if our country can transcend its differences, then yours can, too. every human being within these border dids -- >> reporter: he department just come here to give a speech. he came with aid. nbc's chuck todd traveling with the president this morning. chuck, thank you. and now but turn to the middle east with talks scheduled in egypt on a possible cease fire. but hamas militants in gaza are still firing rockets into israel, and the palestinian death toll from israeli attacks increases. nbc's stephanie gosk is live this morning in tel aviv for us.

stephanie, what can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning, veronica. the talks are continuing on a cease fire. as they continue, the violence over the weekend and today has been intense. israeli forces have broadened their tactics to include hitting residences of hamas leaders. we've seen a large number of casualties. the deadliest attack was when a two story residential building was hit. ten people from a family were killed. this was from a hamas rocket launcher. there's no reason that he was hit but there's anger. from gaza we are getting a continued barrage of rockets here in israel, 16 since midnight. one of those rockets hit a school. that school suffered damage but there was no one injured in the attack. veronica? >> stephanie gosk in tel aviv this morning. we appreciate it. thank you very much.

lawmakers are turning the heat on the obama administration about what officials knew and when regarding the september 11th attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans, including ambassador chris stevens. on sunday, lawmakers called on susan rice to testify before congress on her remarks after the attack. at issue are rice's talking points and why a final draft was changed to down play the role of terrorists, a fact supported by friday's closed door testimony of former cia director, david petraeus. republicans portrayed rice as a pawn of the president's election year agenda. >> the story she told reinforced the political narrative helpful to the president. i don't know what she knew, but i knew the story she told was misleading. >> we are going to find out who made changes in the original statement. until we do, i really think it's unwarranted to make accusations. >> the administration denies any claims of white house interference. meanwhile, paula broadwell,

the north carolina woman at the center of the scandal that led to petraeus's resignation, returned home for the first time since word of the affair broke along with her husband and two children. neither would take questions from reporters as they carried groceries inside. later, around a dozen neighbors and friends showed up, some carrying food. a family acquaintance said broadwell was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support. and now for a look at your national weather as we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. you're getting us ready for thanksgiving. as long as you weren't in the northwest, the weekend was fantastic. it was chilly in some spots, but the middle of the country was above average. temperatures nice and quiet. last weekend i was worried about a coastal storm possibly moving up from north carolina up through new england, that trended further off shore. we're watching that storm develop now. this is as close as it's going to get to land. it's off the coast line of charleston actually.

it is sending a little bit of light rain near wilmington, but for the most part, this is it. we've had large waves. there's some problems on the outer banks. there's beach erosion during high tide cycles. that's going to about do it. it's a little cold up there in new england. the afternoon will be pretty nice with a lot of sunshine. this in the middle of the country which looks a lot worse than it is. a lot of rain isn't hitting the ground there in missouri. all of the stormy weather continues to be back in the northwest. this is a big storm. they'll deal with one after the other right through thanksgiving day. all of that stormy weather will head up into canada. it won't move across the country. we're protected. temperatures pretty mild. 52 to start your morning in kansas city, 50 in minneapolis. the east is typical for this time of year. so here's today forecast on your monday. large storm drenches the northwest is the big headline. i'd say if there was a second headline, i'd say how warm and

beautiful it is. dallas, in the 70s. all the way back to topeka and wichita. you can get some hefty snowstorms this time of year in the northern plains. we're looking good. even a little peek at tomorrow's forecast into tuesday. no issues at all areas east of the rockies, veronica. that's going to set the stage for our busy travel day wednesday and thursday. i'll break down that forecast. >> 34 in boston, is that normal this morning? >> yes, very typical for this time of year. >> chilly. all right. thanks, bill. shopping scams that you can avoid and anyone born after 1985 has never experienced this chilly weather trend. plus, vice president biden hits the jersey shore. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] sponges take your mark.

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welcome back. here are some stories making news this afternoon. vice president joe biden visited parts of new jersey that suffered the worst devastation from superstorm sandy. biden said he spent summers on the jersey shore as a boy and

promises residents that the federal government will not abandon them. new york city officials say they plan to demolish hundreds of buildings damaged beyond repair by sandy. the building department says about 200 homes were wrecked by the storm. about 500 others are being checked to see how bad the damage is. a space capsule made a rare nighttime landing in kazakhstan, bringing back three astronauts, including an american after a four-month voyage to the international space station. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration says october was the 332nd month with an above average surface temperature. to put that into perspective, anyone ages 27 and below, including lindsay lohan and olympic great michael phelps, has never lived through a month that saw global temperatures dip below average. and a rare sight as a massive waterspout formed off the coast of southern australia sunday.

one meteorologist described it as the most well-formed and intense one that he has ever seen. and now here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. florida senator marco rubio was in iowa saturday where presidential candidates like to start early. quote, the way to turn our economy around is not by making rich people poorer, it's by making poor people richer. former first lady barbara bush told reuters that after the 2012 campaign, quote, i'm tired now of the elections. people spoke, move on, get on with it. i want to do other things and not be ugly. president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton spoke with a monk at a buddhist temple in thailand. the president made a leap between the fiscal cliff and prayer?

last friday we showed you the tweet of a picture from the white house of a visit from the gold medal u.s. olympic winning team and later they released a picture of president obama and mckayla maroney both with scowls on their faces. and new jersey governor chris christie appeared on "saturday night live." he had a seth myers weekend update question about the fleece with his name on it that christie wore during hurricane. you have been wearing that fleece a lot. >> oh, yes. it's fused to my skin at this point. >> i have seen you wearing suits. >> i wear them over suits. i'm going to die in this fleece, but that's okay. it's a good fleece. >> it is a good fleece. >> stop saying things i've already said. >> all right. okay. and that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. and now over to wall street. dow opens this week at 12,588 after gaining 45 friday.

the s&p was up six. the nasdaq added 16. markets overseas also saw a boost. the nikkei climbed 129 points while the hang seng rose 103. it is a holiday shortened week on wall street. u.s. markets are closed thursday and trading ends early friday. today, investors will get fresh housing data and earnings from home improvement retailer lowe's before the bell. many tensions will be on the radar. oil futures up a dollar overnight to just under $88 a barrel. good news for drivers planning to hit the road this holiday. prices at the pump are seven cents lower than two weeks ago, around $3.47 a gallon. this morning, hostess executives head to bankruptcy court for the first time since announcing plans to liquidate. bidding has yet to begin from interested buyers, but for now, devoted fans can stock up on e-bay where twinkies are going for a whopping $15 a box.

the average american's credit card debt was $4,996, up 4.9% over last year. meanwhile, as some customers are already lining up for black friday deals, nearly 1/3 of americans think a post-thanksgiving shopping rush is starting too soon this year with some stores opening their doors at 8:00 p.m. meanwhile, new data reveals that pinterest is the most powerful social tool driving holiday spending. the average pinner spends about $80, twice as much as facebook shoppers. "the new york post" reports flood waters from sandy damaged a 10,000 square foot underground fault in manhattan filled with bear bonds, which are just as good as cash and could be worth an estimated $70 billion. but there is still hope for your own fortune. the power ball jackpot is up to $250 million, so grab those

tickets. some nfl upsets and a sprint cup champion. plus, the texas landscape is changing right before your eyes. next. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.

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where it stood for 88 years. pro-palestinian and pro-israel demonstrators clashed outside the federal building. police in riot gear were forced to step in. once officers regained order, both rallies continued on opposite sides of the street. about 300 people gathered to grieve the loss of four military vets killed when a train collided with a parade float. clergy and officials led the candlelight vigil offering prayers and words of encouragement to the devastated community. federal investigators are learned the float driver attempted to cross the tracks as the crossing barriers lowered. and an arizona gun shop owner is holding a post-election grudge against obama supporters. coop reynolds doesn't want your business if you voted for president obama. according to reynolds, obama backers have proven they're not responsible enough to own a firearm. now to sports. we start with sunday night football. baltimore's jacoby jones ran a

punt back 53 yards for a touchdown, which gave the ravens an early first half lead over pittsburgh, and the ravens made that lead hold up and completed a 13-10 win over the steelers. in overtime, houston's andre johnson caught a screen pass and went 48 yards for the winning touchdown, and the texans beat jacksonville 43-37. elsewhere, new england tied a franchise scoring record with a 59-24 win over indy. and dallas came from behind and in overtime beat cleveland 23-20. in college football, unbeaten notre dame jumps to number one in the bcs rankings. alabama is in second place followed by georgia in third and ohio state in number four. after losing on saturday, oregon dropped to number five. at the track in homestead, florida, brad keselowski wrapped up his first championship to win sprint cup trophy of nascar. and now for another look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins.

just looking at those shots from florida, it's like 80, 90 degrees, it's, what, 27 in hartford, 23 in albany. >> it's that time where a lot of snow birds are getting itchy ready to go south in the winter. i can see you as one of those. you're destined to be a snow bird at some point in your life. >> you're absolutely right. >> good morning, everyone. thanksgiving week, the weather couldn't be better if you're east of the rockies. nice easy forecast for me and you to travel, ideal. cold this morning get being the kids ready. people have three days of work and school this week. temperatures in the 20s. it's cold. sunshine, temperatures will be into the upper 40s, some cases the 50s. no problem for the mid-atlantic, ohio valley. the southeast too. all of the troublesome weather today is out in the northwest. that's where the large storm is. washington state, northern california. you'll have the worst weather today and for much of the week. wednesday, the busy travel day,

it continues to be the same weather pattern. everywhere east of the rockies, mostly sunny if not completely sunny skies. mild temperatures. troublesome weather on wednesday. busy travel day. maybe seattle airport into portland. for thanksgiving day, a few showers into the middle of the country. for all the parades and everything else throughout the country, looks very nice. >> good news. thanks, bill. as you know, it is thanksgiving week and it 'tis the season to travel. airports and highways will be packed with millions of people to get away. one of the busiest places will be o'hare airport in chicago. that's where we find nbc's jay gray who is live there this morning with a closer look. jay, has it started already? >> reporter: good morning, veronica. unfortunately, it has. officially underway the thanksgiving travel week. take a look, the lines already forming at the tsa counter in terminal 3. o'hare expected to be the busiest airport in america over this thanksgiving week.

and we expect more than 43 million people to travel this week, but understand a majority of those, 90 pe% according to a the beautiful weather will be in the 50s in chicago. unseasonably warm. as you talked about, nice weather across a lot of the country. i know it's awfully cold where you are now, veronica. also the idea that gas prices have dropped a bit. that's good news for folks getting out and back on the roadway. >> it's going to be 34 degrees this morning, jay. can you do something about that? >> reporter: i'll see what i can do. >> thanks. jay gray in chicago for us. >> reporter: take care. just ahead, "breaking dawn part 2" breaks the bank. and justin bieber's good and bad weekend. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. are you in good hands?

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tonight the petraeus scandal continues to spiral outward and one woman stands at the center of it all, jill kelley, seen here in the same clip doing the same thing because it's the only footage we have of her. but do we have a photo? yes, we do. it's jill kelley in her backyard. this is the same jill kelley seen here in a cnn drama tieization. "twilight" ruled the box office one last time. "breaking dawn part 2," the fifth and final film in the vampire saga debuted with a whopping $141 million, making the film the eighth highest opening of all time.

"skyfall" came in at number two with a strong $41 million. "lincoln" ranked third with a better than expected $21 million. the bieber-gomez breakup saga continued this weekend. the two were spotted together at a japanese restaurant. the dinner date didn't last long, however, as bieber and gomez stormed out of the joint just ten minutes later. are you worried, bill? oh, no. >> i didn't know it happened. >> what do you mean you didn't know it happened? >> there was an argument or fight? >> there was a fight and bieber followed gomez to her house. >> maybe he shouldn't have been out with the -- >> victoria's secret model. hopefully he learned his lesson. the 18-year-old took home top prizes, including artist of the year, favorite pop rock male artist, and some other big winners were nicki minaj.

i'm veronica did he la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned because "way too early" starts now. we need to reach for a future where no child is made to be a soldier and no woman is exploited and where the laws protect them, even if they're vulnerable, even if they're weak. a future where national security is strengthened by a military that serves under civilians and a constitution that guarantees that only those who are elected by the people may govern. on that journey, america will support you every step of the way. president obama delivering his remarks this morning in myanr